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<title>The Survivor, Catherine Parr by Belle_Schuyler</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25733053">The Survivor, Catherine Parr</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belle_Schuyler/pseuds/Belle_Schuyler'>Belle_Schuyler</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Six - Marlow/Moss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:34:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>707</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25733053</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belle_Schuyler/pseuds/Belle_Schuyler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Parr is taking care of an ailing Edward (Jane's son) and Henry at the same time. She finally gets her happy ending, though not in this lifetime.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Catherine Parr &amp; Jane Seymour</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. All My Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Three of them?”</p>
<p>“Uh-huh! Three bright red foxes. The hunting dogs scared them away of course, but you should have seen their coats! They were beautiful.”</p>
<p>Edward gave a small smile and chuckled contentedly at his step-mother’s stories. He had been bed-ridden for the past two weeks with a strange illness, but Parr made a point to come visit him and assist the nurses.</p>
<p>“How are my sisters?”</p>
<p>“They’re just fine. Mary’s engrossed in her religious studies, of course. And Elizabeth is making great progress on the piano. I’ll have to have them visit you soon.”</p>
<p>“No need, they’ll come if they want to.”</p>
<p>He tried to make himself more comfortable, to no avail. His heavy quilts were either too hot or not nearly warm enough, and his fluffy pillows felt suffocating. </p>
<p>“And father?”</p>
<p>Catherine froze briefly as she pulled down the drapes.</p>
<p>“As charming as ever.” She said bitterly.</p>
<p>“I’d believe it.” He replied with a sympathetic glance.</p>
<p>“It’s nothing I can’t handle, dear. Now, try and get some sleep, okay?”</p>
<p>“Alright.” He murmured, turning onto his side and shutting his eyes.</p>
<p>Catherine laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and brushed some of his blonde hair off his damp forehead.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Mum.” He said in one final whisper as he drifted off to sleep.</p>
<p>The corners of her lips turned in a bittersweet smile as she headed to the door, where she crossed paths with a nurse.</p>
<p>“I’ll be taking over the night watch this evening, Your Majesty.” She said with a curtsey. </p>
<p>“Thank you.” Catherine responded, lost in thought.</p>
<p>“Oh, and Your Majesty?”</p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p>“The doctors wanted me to tell you, in monitoring the Prince’s condition…I’m afraid it’s not looking well, ma’am.”</p>
<p>“I-I see.”</p>
<p>“It’s hard to say, but he’s not likely to be with us for more than a month.”</p>
<p>“Okay. T-thank you for –” She stopped talking to keep from embarrassing herself.</p>
<p>“I’m so very sorry, Your Majesty.” The nurse said, cautiously reaching out to the Queen. “Are you alright?”</p>
<p>“Y-yes. Excuse me, please.” She walked purposefully down the halls of the palace, finally reaching an empty room to allow her to release her tears in private.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Now It's Us Alone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once Edward passed, Henry couldn’t last much longer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The final year or so of Catherine’s life was spent remarrying Thomas Seymour, and becoming unexpectedly pregnant.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But one day, her body was overcome by an unbearable pain that finally lifted all at once, leaving her feeling impossibly light. She was blinded by a beautiful white glare, and as her eyes adjusted she noticed a blur of blonde hair and the thud of another body embracing hers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What did I -?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, Catherine! You’re here! Edward, come quick, darling! She’s here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Edward?” Catherine mumbled. She looked down to see the woman that had greeted her so enthusiastically. “Are you…?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Jane Seymour, dear. It’s great to finally meet you!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re Edward’s mum!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The very same. We’ve all been waiting for you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We -?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Miss Cathy!” Edward called, running up to her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, Edward!” She reached up to hug the boy’s tall frame.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s great to see you again, but…what are we all doing here?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’ve passed away, dear. This is the afterlife.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m – dead?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Afraid so.” Edward answered, putting a comforting arm around Catherine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But I…Thomas. And the baby.” She could barely form her overwhelmed thoughts into words. “I had just had a baby. A little girl.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’ll see them again soon, don’t you worry.” Jane assured. “For now, would you like to meet the others? All of Henry’s other wives are here, and they’re great company.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sure.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Great! Their names are about as easy as they come, two of them are called Catherine and the other two are called Anne. We’ve all gotten used to just answering to some variant of those names, even me!” Jane said, causing Catherine to laugh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, this is really it, huh?” She asked, looking at the dreamlike environment surrounding her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh no, darling, not even close! This is just the beginning.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The beginning?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, wait until you see our next life – all six of us form a girl group!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A girl group? Let me guess, we’re called…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Six.” The two queens said in unison with a shared smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Welcome home, Catherine.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I had to mess with the dates for this one, as Edward died after Henry and Parr. But I was interested in exploring an anachronistic story with a different timeline.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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